{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T15:07:11Z","timestamp":1785424031005,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]],"date-time":"2024-11-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732838400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0There is a paucity of research on the incidence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of\u00a0Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and\u00a0Enterobacter\u00a0spp. (ESKAPE) pathogens in Africa because of the inadequate establishment of AMR surveillance systems.\n\nObjective:\u00a0This study reports on the incidence and AMR of bloodstream ESKAPE pathogens at a referral hospital in northern South Africa.\n\nMethods:\u00a0This retrospective descriptive study used routinely collected bloodstream isolates (pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing performed using automated systems) from the South African National Health Laboratory Service, from January 2014 to December 2019. Resistant phenotypes analysed included methicillin-resistant\u00a0S. aureus\u00a0and carbapenem-resistant\u00a0A. baumannii.\n\nResults:\u00a0The ESKAPE pathogen incidence rate was stable from 2014 to 2019 (p\u00a0= 0.133). The most isolated pathogens were\u00a0S. aureus\u00a0(268\/746; 35.9%) and\u00a0A. baumannii\u00a0(200\/746; 26.8%).\u00a0Staphylococcus aureus\u00a0increased from 39 isolates in 2014 to 75 in 2019 (p\u00a0= 0.132). The incidence rate of\u00a0A. baumannii\u00a0increased from 11.9% (16\/134) in 2015 to 37.8% (68\/180) in 2019 (p\u00a0= 0.009). Most isolates (417\/746; 55.9%) were from the neonatal ward. Carbapenem-resistant\u00a0A. baumannii\u00a0increased from 68.8% (11\/16) in 2014 to 75.0% (51\/68) in 2019 (p\u00a0= 0.009). Methicillin-resistant\u00a0S. aureus\u00a0decreased from 56.0% (14\/25) in 2016 to 17.3% (13\/75) in 2019 (p\u00a0= 0.260).\n\nConclusion:\u00a0Routine data provide essential information on the incidence of ESKAPE pathogens and AMR phenotypes, serving as a basis for an antibiogram, a surveillance tool in antibiotic stewardship programmes.\n\nWhat this study adds:\u00a0The study provided local information on the incidence and AMR pattern of ESKAPE pathogens, which is essential when developing empiric treatment protocols for appropriate antibiotic prescribing and infection prevention and control practices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/ajlm.v13i1.2519","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]],"date-time":"2024-11-29T08:47:26Z","timestamp":1732870046000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["ESKAPE pathogen incidence and antibiotic resistance in patients with bloodstream infections at a referral hospital in Limpopo, South Africa, 2014\u20132019: A cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9677-8500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiyani C.","family":"Mthombeni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010f1sq29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"North-West University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1740-5675","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johanita R.","family":"Burger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010f1sq29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"North-West University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7611-6171","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martha S.","family":"Lubbe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010f1sq29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"North-West University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5366-8173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marlene","family":"Julyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/010f1sq29","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"North-West University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8560-8581","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Molebogeng R.","family":"Lekalakala-Mokaba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/017p87168","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Limpopo"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ikuta KS, Swetschinski LR, Robles Aguilar G, et al. 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